Ok, this is just a heads-up. SANParks has given me a call to let us know that as soon as the birds have made up their minds where to set up house, they (Parks, not the birds) will put up signs at the crags.

Please respect these signs. It's way lekker to have the raptors nesting and flying around our crags, and basically, it's their rock, not ours, so be cool. The affected areas are likely to be parts of Muizenberg crag (achtung, traddies), and maybe Silvermine main crag.

I met with the raptor people (that's not as wierd as it sounds) and explained the position of us climbers, why we need to climb, what it entails etc. They were very understanding, and I think we cleared up some mutual misconceptions. Consequently, they will probably not close an entire crag if raptors nest on one part of it. Of course, this is on condition that climbers respect the nesting sites.

There has been good compliance in the past from climbers (of course, we're all nice people, hey?), so thanks okes. The raptor people (I should stop calling them that) do monitor nest sites closely in-season. If you think they don't go up there, they do. They also monitor the crags with spotting scopes from afar (ja, it was news to me too - Big Brother stuff).

I'll keep you informed about details once the birds make up their minds.

I think all climbers will adhere to the crag closures if the signage / emails that go out are accurate. Last season they slapped up some signs on top of Main Crag and it was difficult to work out which routes were out of bounds. And while the signs were up, not a single chick was seen on the crag so the signs were questionable and everybody just ignored them. However, I'm sure with the MCSA input into the raptor group now, this will improve.

guest wrote:
Since when did the land reclamation act include crags and birds? It's not their rock. It 'belongs' to nobody. Quite frankly, if I'm on a route and I can find a way to chock a baby bird in a crack, then hey, it's a win really.

.... and wait for mommy falcon to come peck your eyeballs out!
Or, wait for them alientjies to land and tune you it's not your planet, while pointing one of them there laser gadgets at your giant nads!

No massive tree-hugger myself, but it is rather decent to respect the little creatures that evolved and made the crags their home long before we lost our body hair and stopped scraping our knuckles on the ground (that is, most of us in this case)!

I'd love to be able to see a living dodo (the feathered kind, not the guest kind)... don't you think it'd be nice for your grandkids to see and hear a real live peregrine falcon out in the wild?